Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

In ancient mythology, Odysseus' faced a dilemma as he passing between Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla was a monster on the cliffs and Charydbis was a dangerous whirlpool. Neither fate was more attractive as both were difficult to overcome.

In a sense, the world's politicians seem to be facing similar unpalatable choices as they sail into uncharted waters. Some commentators are calling these parliamentary decisions as a "legacy vote" with inevitably long lasting implications.

Making ethical choices when the options available is often difficult seems to be our constant 21st centenary companion. In hia book, The Peaceable Kingdom, Stanley Hauerwas, a Methodist ethicist, points out that Christian ethics is not primarily about making the right decision (What should I do?), but about being the right kind of people (Who should we be?).

What story am I telling by my life and by my actions?

The notion of my story is as important as the notion of my actions. This is precisely what the society seems to deny as it gives priority to my story over our story that might shape our character. For Hauerwas, however, the human being is essentially a story-telling creature. The story of which we are a part precede the actions which we take. For we are social creation, not an individual one. The unity of a person’s life resides in the unity of a story which connects birth to life to death, and gives our story meaning. It is the primary essence of Christian belief and practice. Thus the basic question for Christian morality is not, “What am I, as an individual, to do or decide?” but “Of what stories do I find myself a part, and thus who should I be?”

Our passage between a rock and a hard place may well prove to look the same, but would our destination be more assured?